Let's Play
by Cuz I'm The Wanderer
Summary: "Let's play," Athena smirks. After a long day of battling the Wasteland's many monsters, X6-88 and Athena find comfort in a playful game of basketball. X6-88 x Sole Survivor One-Shot. Fluff, Friends/Lovers, Playful Flirting.


"Hey X, come take a look at this!" Athena shouts when she lays eyes on the bunker's basketball court. She walks over to a table containing an assortment of sports supplies and takes off her helmet. Checking if it still has enough air to bounce, she picks up a basketball and squeezes it.

X6-88 examines the room and comments, "This looks like a combat arena, but I'm not sure what the hoops were for."

"Heads up," she warns before passing him the ball.

Without skipping a beat, he swiftly catches it. "A ball, ma'am?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.

"To be more accurate it's a basketball used to play -the sport- basketball. And this is a basketball court where the game would take place." She signals for him to throw the ball back. Mimicking her past actions, he tosses the ball to her.

Athena dribbles the ball with one hand and smiles faintly, a nostalgic gleam in her eyes. "I used to play a bit with a few close friends back when I was a teenager. Not a lot but enough to remember the basics." Her golden brown eyes look up and connect with his barely visible pair hiding behind those shades of his. "Let's play," she smirks.

"Play? With all due respect, ma'am, we don't have time for games," he objects sternly, crossing his arms.

"Oh come on," she passes him her ball and continues speaking, "think of it as training. Basketball can help enhance your agility and endurance." As if to prove her point, she spins another ball on top of her finger and catches it when it falls off after a couple twirls.

He attempts to do the same, but the ball fails to spin more than once. Genuinely curious, he asks, "How did you do that?"

Athena pretends to wonder whether she should show him or not before she takes the ball out of his hands and begins to dribble it. "I will after a quick match. Best two out of three shots wins," she explains with a smug look.

"Shots?" He reaches for his gun.

"No, these type of shots," she displays by successfully throwing the ball into the hoop closest to her, surprising even herself.

"So that's what the hoops are for. . ." He mumbles with a hand on his chin. "I accept your challenge."

"Very well," she stifles a laugh, finding his seriousness both amusing and endearing. She clears her throat and continues, "Before we start, let me give you some pointers." She begins to dribble the ball with her right hand and explains, "This is called dribbling; see how I'm bouncing the ball with the tips of my fingers? You have to dribble the ball at all times while playing. Just holding the ball is breaking the rules. You try it," she passes him the ball.

"Alright," he replies and copies her movements. His dribbles are consistent and hard, smacking the concrete at full force.

"Well, you learn fast, don't you?" She smiles and walks up to him. "Now, when it comes to taking the ball away from your opponent, the easiest way is to swipe it when they're dribbling. However, pushing, pulling, and other forms of force are prohibited." She demonstrates what not to do by pushing her shoulder onto his arm, leaning against him.

He tries not to laugh at her attempt to push him and answers, "Yes, ma'am."

"You can block the person, though, just can't touch them."

Athena smacks the ball out of his hand when he is least expecting it and begins to dribble towards the closest hoop. "We start now!"

"Ma'am, I believe that is cheating," he shouts and begins to run after her.

She shoots the ball into the hoop and, as she is reaching for it, he blocks her and dribbles the ball away.

"Damn your fast."

"Did you just figure that out now?" He retorts, a small smirk on his face.

"How could I possibly forget?" Sneaking to his side, she slaps the ball out of his hand and into hers.

When she is about to shoot, he swipes the ball from the air and dunks it in.

"So this is how it feels to be short. . ." she murmurs and takes the ball while he is dangling off the hoop. She dribbles it to the middle of the court and X6-88 stands next to the hoop.

"You can't just wait for me to get there," she yells, trying to not smile but failing.

"Why not?" He asks with a raised eyebrow and a playful smile.

"I'm not walking into a trap!" Athena continues to dribble in the center of the court.

"Then I'll come to you," he smirks.

X6-88 begins to run towards Athena while she dribbles as fast as she can towards the hoop.

Quickly, she attempts to make the shot from where she is but X6-88 interrupts her by picking her up from behind.

"No fair! That's cheating," she laughs so hard that her words are barely audible.

"Who cheated first?"

"That's not fair!" She chuckles and throws the ball towards the basket.

Somehow, the ball manages to make its way into the hoop, declaring Athena the winner.

"Impressive," he whispers.

"To be honest, I'm surprised I can still dribble, let alone shoot," she chuckles.

"You underestimate your abilities, ma'am." X6-88 lets her down and asks, "What is it that you've won?"

"What do you mean?" She asks with a puzzled expression.

"If I won, you were going to teach me the ball trick but we never established what it is you would get if you win."

"Oh yeah," Athena tilts her head. "Oh, I know! You aren't allowed to call me ma'am anymore," she smiles at him.

X6-88 furrows his eyebrows in response. "Pardon?"

"From now on, you are to address me by my first name, nothing else," she claps her hands together, seemingly in love with the idea.

"Ma'am, that is highly inappropriate, I can no-" A low growl interrupts X6-88 and echoes throughout the bunker.

"Did you . . . did you hear that?" Athena whispers, her eyes darting across the room.

"Yes, I think it came from there," he answers while pointing to the hole in the corner of the room.

Not a second later, Athena snaps her helmet back on and begins to sneak towards the cave.

"Ma'am wait," X6-88 protests in a low tone.

"Wait here," she orders before disappearing into the cave.

X6-88 grinds his teeth; it irritates him to no end when she follows her impulses before thinking of a strategy. How is he supposed to protect her when she recklessly charges into things?

Silence engulfs the bunker and is broken by a monstrous snarl. Two shots are fired accompanied by a booming explosion that shakes the ground.

"Athena!" X6-88 dashes towards the cave.

Before he can enter, Athena walks out and lifts up the mouthpiece of her helmet to reveal a shy smile.

"I'm okay, it was just a deathclaw, young judging by its size."

"Just a deathclaw? You could have been killed," he scolds with his hands on his hips.

"You underestimate me," she winks.

Suddenly, Athena feels a dull throb in her lower back, causing her to flinch and softly groan.

"Athena," he calls as he stands by her side and puts his arm around her waist, allowing her to lean on him for support.

"My back . . . it kind of burns," she winces.

"Can you walk?"

"I'd rather not, let's just wait a bit until it- woah!" X6-88 wastes no time to carry her off the floor and into his arms. "Let's go treat your wounds."

"Well, alright," she chuckles and wraps her arms around his neck, causing his cheeks to burn.

"It sounded really nice," she softly mentions as he continues to walk.

"What did?"

"The way your voice sounds when you say my name," she says while leaning her head on his shoulder.

Feeling rather flustered, X6-88 clears his throat and says, "Well, you won so I must uphold my end of the deal. . . Even though you cheated," he teases with a faint side-smile.

"Hey, so did you!"

"You started it."

"Okay, okay, how about I teach you how to spin the ball to make things even."

"Deal," he smiles contently, "but, for today, you must rest."

Carefully, he sets her down on the bed in the room they left their heavier equipment in when they arrived in the bunker.

"Your health is priority," he reminds her, whether it is because she is the director's mother or because of the bond they share between one another is unclear anymore. What he does know for sure is that he'd give and do anything to make sure she's safe.


End file.
